A doctor writes about both his professional and personal experience with people facing terminal illness, and discusses different approaches to dying. As a doctor he’s trained to fix problems, but when the problem is not fixable, what then? Should patients spend small fortunes on treatments that may or may not extend their lives, suffering terrible side effects and giving them false hope? Should they do nothing at all? And what about those who are not technically dying, but too ill to care for themselves? What does research and experience tell us about how to spend our final days?

This is a book for everyone. We are all mortal, all dying one minute at a time. And so are our friends, our family, and everyone we love(dark, I know). This is a book about how to deal with the practical and medical problems of facing the inevitable.

The Rainbow Comes and Goes by Anderson Cooper and Gloria Vanderbilt

A conversation between Anderson Cooper and his mother, Gloria Vanderbilt. It’s fascinating to hear Gloria Vanderbilt, 91 at the time, talk about her privileged but lonely childhood, and her tumultuous youth. She reflects on the life she was born into, and how it influenced her decisions, while Anderson Cooper reflects on how her life in turn affected his own. The point of the conversation was to deepen their relationship and understanding of each other as parent and child, and inspire others to do the same. I think they succeeded.

David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell

Malcolm Gladwell on advantages, disadvantages, and how sometimes they are not what they seem. Fascinating, as always.

You’re Never Weird on the Internet(Almost) by Felicia Day

Fantastic biography, especially if you get the audio because it’s read by Felicia herself! I loved hearing about her weird childhood, her anxiety and insecurities, and how she began working on The Guild. She’s infinitely relatable in her enthusiasm for all things geeky, her frequent moments of mortification, her hopes and her fears. It’s all in there, including her struggles with gaming addiction, depression, and Gamergate. When I finished, I just wanted to hug her and thank her for sharing such personal memories. I have a great empathy and respect for anyone who can acknowledge that they are struggling with mental illness, get help and recover, and then share their story despite all the social stigma. Felicia, I adore you more now than ever.

Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson

This was probably the best book I read all year. If you or anyone you care about has suffered from mental illness of any kind, you should read this book. And if you don’t know anyone who has suffered from mental illness, then either you don’t know that many people, or more likely, they’re just afraid to tell you. Basically, I’m saying you should read this book. Jenny tells funny personal stories about her strange life and her experiences with depression, anxiety, and other disorders. But she also talks about how mental illness lies to you, tries to hurt you, and promotes a wonderful idea: if depression can make you sink low enough to want to die, then maybe you also have the capacity to rise to the height of being crazy with joy too. She wants to spite her depression by being furiously happy. I love this idea(and this book), and I’ve tried to incorporate furiously happy into my own life. I’ve had ballgown themed birthday parties, kissed people just because I wanted to, wore a dinosaur hat at work, and just generally tried to be unrestrained with things that make me happy. It doesn’t solve anything, but I’ve found it to be a useful tool in coping with depression. Thank you, Jenny Lawson.

Fiction

Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith

This is book 3 in a series, and I love it, so I’m gonna list it even though it’s not the first one. Get used to this. Cormoran Strike and Robin are up against their first serial killer while Robin and Matthew’s wedding date looms… Once again, I wasn’t sure about the killer until Strike revealed his hand, but oh, the ending! Gah! I want the next one already.

Bad Monkey by Carl Hiaason

A fisherman off the coast of Florida reels in a human arm flipping the bird. A disgraced police detective demoted to restaurant inspector starts investigating, hoping to earn his badge back. A Bohemian fisherman and his spiteful pet monkey try to put a voodoo curse on a the white man who’s bought his family home out from under him. There’s also a sexy morgue doctor, a fugitive sex offender, a drunken voodoo hag, and a few unscrupulous land developers. Wackiness ensues. I love the crazy character back stories, including the monkey’s back story, and the way all the characters find that their paths cross in a satisfying ending. A very fun read if you don’t mind a little crude humor.

Timeline by Michael Crichton

Classic Michael Crichton, and definitely one of his better stories. A big tech corporation funds a historical dig of a medieval castle while doing research on time travel. Then a history professor steps into the past and his graduate students must go back in time to get him. But of course, everything goes wrong, and they are caught between warring medieval factions with no way home…

Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman

Fat Charlie Nancy is easily embarrassed, gullible, and kind-hearted. He is also, unbeknownst to him, the son of Anansi, the spider trickster god. Then he gets word that his father has died, and learns of a brother he doesn’t remember, and everything starts to get weird.

This was touching, hilarious, mysterious, and filled with wonder, all of the things I love about Neil Gaiman.

Saga volume 6 by Brian K. Vaughn, illustrated by Fiona Staples

One again, a book that is pretty far into a series, but there’s nothing stopping you from going out and getting volume 1(and you should). This volume made up for the sucker punch at the end of volume 5. Reunited with many of my favorite characters, and Hazel is finally old enough to begin speaking her mind. Loved it.

Happy reading.

]]>https://vegetarianninjalibrarian.wordpress.com/2017/06/16/favorite-adult-books-of-2016/feed/0vegetarianninjalibrarian206960062607260915751404237055122384855925735012160717017669274428862528Favorite Picture Books and YA Books of 2016https://vegetarianninjalibrarian.wordpress.com/2017/05/02/favorite-picture-books-and-ya-books-of-2016/
https://vegetarianninjalibrarian.wordpress.com/2017/05/02/favorite-picture-books-and-ya-books-of-2016/#commentsTue, 02 May 2017 08:29:51 +0000http://vegetarianninjalibrarian.wordpress.com/?p=1063]]>Only like 5 months late this time. Improvement! In an effort to put something out sooner, I’m posting this now, and I’ll post the adult books later. It seems I finished off a few great series this year, so I’ve mentioned the first book in each series in the description.

Children’s Books

Mother Bruce by Ryan T. Higgins

Bruce the bear accidentally becomes a mother. Very silly. Very cute. Good for storytime, with fun jokes for kids and parents.

I’m Trying to Love Spiders By Bethany Barton

Great storytime book with lots of humor and actual information about spiders. Try to learn about spiders instead of squish them! Though I’m a little sad about all the spider squishing(because I DO actually love spiders), I’m just twisted enough to laugh. It has lots of good opportunities for audience involvement too.

Nuts in Space by Elys Dolan

Captain Moose and his crew have obtained the Lost Nuts of Legend, and now all they have to do is get home. But they’re lost, and they’re very hungry! A silly combination picture book and graphic novel with jokes for kids and adults. Fans of Star Wars or Star Trek will especially enjoy.

I really want to eat a child by Sylviane Donnio, illustrated by Dorothee de Monfreid
A baby crocodile wants to eat a child. Funny and cute, and just a little twisted. Good for storytime if the kids(and their parents) aren’t
too sensitive.

Teen Books

Winter by Marissa Meyer

A good ending to a great series. Can’t wait for the next book Book one of the Lunar Chronicles is Cinder, a science fiction retelling of Cinderella where Cinderella is a Cyborg. And just to up the ante, there’s also a deadly plague killing tons of people and an evil sorcereress queen. Each successive book builds on the story by adding another fairy tale retelling. Book two is Red Riding Hood, book three is Rapunzel, and this last book is Snow White. Seeing how all the characters from all the books come together through fate and friendship, each one using their own unique skills to build a formidable team, is heartwarming. I especially liked that Winter’s skill was her overwhelming kindness and empathy, and that she was stunningly beautiful even with her facial scars. Kindness, empathy, and friendship are not often considered skills outside of children’s books, and I like that this series values them.

Stars Above by Marissa Meyer

If you like the Lunar Chronicles, this is a must read, if only for the short epilogue story at the end. A lot of the stories are back stories for the characters, but there are two new stories, and they’re both worth reading.

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire

You know all those kids who stumble through doorways to other worlds like Oz and Wonderland? Ever wondered what happens when they come back to our world? Nancy’s family doesn’t understand and they think she’s crazy, so they send her to a special school. It turns out everyone else there has been to another world too. Nancy thinks she may have found a refuge, but then someone gets murdered…

This was a great little story, and it’s nominated for a Hugo.

Manners and Mutiny by Gail Carriger

A satisfying ending to a very fun series. The first book is Etiquette and Espionage, and it’s a comedic, steampunk adventure about a girl’s finishing school that doubles as a spy school. Highly recommended. The audiobooks are especially good, partly because you don’t have to figure out how to pronounce some of the ridiculous names.

Dream Thieves, Blue Lily, Lily Blue, and The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater

The first book in this series is The Raven Boys. I loved that first book, but didn’t get around to the second book, The Dream Thieves, for a couple years. And then I just couldn’t stop.

The main characters are Blue, Gansey, Ronan, Adam, and Noah. Blue is a girl raised in a house of women psychics, but who’s only psychic ability is to magnify the abilities of others. Gansey is a rich prep school boy with a fascination for history, and an obsession with a legendary Welsh king. Ronan is foul mouthed, perpetually angry, but fiercely loyal and truthful to a fault, and he has very unusual dreams. Adam grew up in a trailer park with his abusive father and he works hard to be allowed to stay at the prep school with Gansey and Ronan, hoping to someday leave his small town life behind. Noah is quiet and gentle, but has a very dark secret.

Living with psychics, Blue has always known that she will kill her true love with a kiss. When she sees Gansey’s future in a graveyard, she knows he will be dead within a year, and most likely he is the true love she’s destined to kill. Completely unaware how little time he has, Gansey pursues the grave of the Welsh king Glendower, and the legend that whoever finds and wakes the king is granted a wish. Ronan, Adam, Noah, and Blue are caught up in Gansey’s obsession, and consequently they’re pulled into the magic surrounding the search and the ruthless people who will do anything to control the magic themselves.

I love Maggie Stiefvater’s writing style, and I love how complex the characters are. I truly care about what happens to them all. I also like that the magic is dark and alien, and each book had at least one moment so creepy that I literally got goosebumps. Some mysteries are solved, but many things remain strange and unknowable. I was left with many questions at the end of The Raven King, but apparently Maggie Stiefvater will be writing a couple more books about these characters, so maybe I will get my answers eventually. If not, I’m finding Maggie and asking her!

]]>https://vegetarianninjalibrarian.wordpress.com/2017/05/02/favorite-picture-books-and-ya-books-of-2016/feed/2vegetarianninjalibrarian2574500223281865221100262034413613206900256890742552629618725742173473891737850817378527More Ridiculous Book Covershttps://vegetarianninjalibrarian.wordpress.com/2017/03/23/more-ridiculous-book-covers/
https://vegetarianninjalibrarian.wordpress.com/2017/03/23/more-ridiculous-book-covers/#respondThu, 23 Mar 2017 09:34:06 +0000http://vegetarianninjalibrarian.wordpress.com/?p=1182]]>Because I work in a library, these may never stop coming.

#SexyMistakes! Ok, not gonna lie, this is both ridiculous and awesome. I might actually read this at some point. I’d also kinda like to feel the need to use that hashtag at some point in my life. Seems like an important mistake to make at least once in your life…

Why this one? Because it reminds me of my friends, that’s why.

Once again, I’m twelve. And this book is called Mocha Dick. Haha, dick.

Honestly, I think it’s that earnest, adoring look on the lady’s face, combined with the pensive, confused look on the guy’s face. And somehow I think this is supposed to be a romance? I dunno, confusion isn’t super romantic for me. And neither are Amish beards while we’re at it.

Adorable, but deadly. Look at his little face! Just look at it! I’d be super dead.

It’s a chihuahua in a tiny sailor outfit driving a boat! Can you stand it?! And his name is Pepe!!

I’m not actually surprised that this book exists. Indeed, by all rights, it belongs in this world more than I do. Mostly I’m just super entertained that my library system carries copies(plural) of it. This is amazing. Such times we live in that you can go to your public library and pick up a book of Star Trek alien philosophy on war.

But what deserves to exist even more than the Klingon Art of War book? The scratch and sniff wine book of course! I leafed through it, and yes, I sniffed. It describes in detail many types of wine and how to tell them apart by appearance and by smell. Such a combination of sophisticated connoisseur and childish glee may never have existed in book form until now, and my library owns copies. You’re welcome. I would have checked this out if a co-worker hadn’t beaten me to it.

]]>https://vegetarianninjalibrarian.wordpress.com/2017/03/23/more-ridiculous-book-covers/feed/0vegetarianninjalibrarian20170131_14024320170119_19491420150717_17020020150721_14191720151211_14153020160107_17562420160610_09091220160809_17083820160824_17353920161229_143645Egg Drop Souphttps://vegetarianninjalibrarian.wordpress.com/2017/02/22/egg-drop-soup/
https://vegetarianninjalibrarian.wordpress.com/2017/02/22/egg-drop-soup/#respondWed, 22 Feb 2017 08:57:57 +0000http://vegetarianninjalibrarian.wordpress.com/?p=1139]]>Quickly, before it’s too hot for soup! I make this soup when I don’t really feel like cooking or eating, but I still want something hot to make the belly rumbles stop. It hardly takes any time at all if you use frozen vegetables.

2 cups water

1 veggie bullion cube

1 TBSP cornstarch dissolved in 1/4 cup of water

2 TBSP frozen peas

4 baby carrots sliced into coins(or just get a bag of frozen peas & carrots, toss in 4 Tablespoons and call it done)

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 egg

Put the water in a pot and set it to boil. Throw in the bullion cube and peas and carrots and minced garlic. Let it boil for about 2 minutes, then add the cornstarch mixture, stirring continuously. Then break the egg in a cup and stir it real good. Stirring the soup slowly in one direction only(clockwise only, or counterclockwise only) add the egg a little at a time. Then you can turn off the heat and keep stirring for about a minute. At this point, I usually add a lot of soy sauce, but that’s only because they don’t make salt licks for humans and I have to get my sodium somewhere. Then I stare at the steam for a bit and wait for it to cool off enough to eat while trying to keep the cat out of it. It’s a fast, warm meal for a rainy day if you’re not very hungry.

]]>https://vegetarianninjalibrarian.wordpress.com/2017/02/22/egg-drop-soup/feed/0vegetarianninjalibrarian20170109_193041New Year’s salad that doesn’t have to be coldhttps://vegetarianninjalibrarian.wordpress.com/2017/01/06/new-years-salad-that-doesnt-have-to-be-cold/
https://vegetarianninjalibrarian.wordpress.com/2017/01/06/new-years-salad-that-doesnt-have-to-be-cold/#respondFri, 06 Jan 2017 06:54:10 +0000http://vegetarianninjalibrarian.wordpress.com/?p=1086]]>I don’t usually consider salads recipes, but I haven’t really posted a recipe in a while and a friend mentioned looking for low starch, vegetarian recipes. Also, this salad is pretty filling as salads go, and I know this friend has access to Trader Joe’s(our secret, shared lover) where you can buy all the ingredients. This salad is a really good mix of sweet and savory flavors, and if you use the roasted squash while it’s still hot, an interesting mix of temperatures too.

Ingredients

fresh arugula

5-8 cherry tomatoes cut in half(if you cut them in half they don’t pop in your mouth and squirt tomato seeds across the break room at your co-workers during lunch)

crumbled feta cheese

handful of walnuts

handful of dried cranberries

1 bag of cubed butternut squash

3 mushrooms, sliced

2-4 TBSP oil(enough to lightly coat the butternut squash)

1 TBSP dried basil(you could use fresh too)

Trader Joe’s Champagne vinaigrette

Directions

Toss the butternut squash with the oil and the dried basil. Put it in a roasting pan and roast it at 375 for about 45 minutes. It’s done when you can cut a cube in half easily with a fork. You can turn up the temperature or roast them for a little longer if you want them to have crispy brown edges(which is sometimes nice for texture).

Fill a large salad bowl with arugula. You can really pack it in there if you are a hangry, greedy wildebeast like me. Toss in the dried cranberries, walnuts, mushrooms, and tomatoes. Pile the roasted squash on top and garnish with feta cheese. Or pile the cheese on too if you’re super hungry. Drizzle with champagne dressing. I also sprinkle some salt on because I love me some sodium. It’s super pretty, and you get to feel virtuous about eating salad.

I make this a lot for lunch, but when I make it for lunch, I let the squash cool completely before putting it on the salad and closing the Tupperware. You can prepare it the night before and it stays pretty crisp as long as you don’t put the salad dressing on until you’re ready to eat it.

]]>https://vegetarianninjalibrarian.wordpress.com/2017/01/06/new-years-salad-that-doesnt-have-to-be-cold/feed/0vegetarianninjalibrarian20170201_151837Favorite Books of 2015https://vegetarianninjalibrarian.wordpress.com/2016/12/20/favorite-books-of-2015/
https://vegetarianninjalibrarian.wordpress.com/2016/12/20/favorite-books-of-2015/#respondTue, 20 Dec 2016 07:20:35 +0000http://vegetarianninjalibrarian.wordpress.com/?p=585]]>It’s taken long enough, I know. I promise 2016 will not take as long… unless someone else dies and I get depressed and don’t do it. But back on topic, hope you find something new and exciting here.

Children’s Books:

Tea Rex by Molly Idle

A little girl and her brother have a tyranosaurus rex over for tea. The text goes over tea time manners while the beautiful pictures tell the story. Hilarity ensues.

Nerdy Birdy by Aaron Reynolds

A picture book about the difficulties of fitting in. Personally, fitting in has always been a struggle for me, so I found this heartwarming.

Santa Claws by Laura Leuk, illustrated by Gris Grimly

Children’s picture book about monsters and Christmas, illustrated by the amazing Gris Grimly. Are you looking for a book that’s cute, but creepy? Look no further.

Fortunately the Milk by Neil Gaiman

A short children’s novel about a father who has a wacky adventure while on the way to the store to get milk for his children’s cereal. And it’s by Neil Gaiman. ‘Nuff said.

Monster on the Hill by Rob Harrell

A graphic novel about a world where each medieval town has a monster they are proud of. Every town, that is, except for Stoker-on-Avon.

Teen Books:

Glory O’Brien’s History of the Future by A.S. King

A strange story about a girl and her friend who drink a bat and gain the power to see both people’s past and future. How do you drink a bat? I’m not telling. As for the history of the future, it’s horrifying and compelling, but I can’t tell you much more than that. It’s a story about friendship and choices, despair and hope, truth and lies, art and life, and the connections between people, both past and future. And personally, I enjoy books that delve a little into what it’s like living with mental illness, as well as feminism. I can’t think of a better way to explain this book; you just have to read it.

Etiquette and Espionage by Gail Carriger

Silly steampunk adventure about teenaged Sophronia, who is failing at being a proper lady. Her mother sends her away to a very unusual finishing school where she learns not only to be a lady, but also spying, poisoning, and a lot of other things she never expected. It takes place a generation before the Alexia Macon stories, so there are guest appearances of characters I recognized, but much younger. Fun fan service to see these characters in their youth.

The Whispering Skull by Jonathan Stroud

Lucy, Lockwood, and George take on a seemingly normal case helping out a graveyard crew. But the body they unearth is more perilous than anticipated, and the people involved are just as dangerous as the ghosts. More banter, more scary ghosts, more adventure, and of course, a mystery.

Ms Marvel No Normal by Willow G. Wilson

Part of being a teenager is dealing with being different, not fitting in. And what I love about this version of Ms Marvel is that the girl is a muslim teenager living in New Jersey. On top of all the normal teenage angst, she also has to deal with prejudice about her religion, and racism because she is of middle eastern heritage. Plus, you know, super confusing new powers, and having a secret identity, as if things weren’t complicated enough already.

The Coldest Girl in Cold Town by Holly Black

Holly Black wrote a vampire book. That’s really all I needed to know, but if you need convincing, it’s about a teenage girl named Tana who wakes up after a house party to find that everyone else in the house has been massacred by vampires. Everyone, that is, but her ex-boyfriend(of course) and one vampire who has been left behind by his companions to die. But Tana’s ex is “cold” with the vampire infection, and she fears she may be too. Vampirism is treated as a communicable disease by the government, and “cold towns” have been established and quarantined for those infected. Holly Black builds a rich world of quarantined concentration camps, prejudice, fear, reality television, and celebrity worship around a character who struggles with her own self destructive tendencies.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Days of Blood and Starlight, and Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor

I completely tore through this whole series on a recommendation from a friend, Maryelizabeth, who owns Mysterious Galaxy in San Diego. This is the story of Karou, a mysterious art student with blue hair(you gotta have blue hair) and tattoos who draws monsters in her notebook. What her friends don’t know is that the monsters are the only family she’s ever known. The double life of a normal art student, and errand girl for monsters is a lonely one, and Karou is starting to get fed up with it all. Then three angels with wings of fire begin marking magic doors with handprints, and Karou’s life is about to literally burn down around her. I love the amazing world that Laini Taylor has built, the characters she’s created, the drama and the humor, and the marvelous strangeness of it all. It’s a love story full of the worst kind of betrayals and loss, friendship and revenge, wishes and monsters and secrets, but a love story nonetheless. And I love it.

Adult Books:

The Way of Kings and Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson.

How does he do this? The books are huge and daunting, but totally worth it, and with Sanderson, you know you won’t be waiting 10 years for the next one. He builds an amazing world ravaged by magical storms, full of strange creatures, new religions, and characters you want to like because they all believe they are doing the right thing(even the bad ones).

Injustice: Gods Among Us, years 1 and 2 by Tom Taylor

I don’t often read DC comics, but these are amazing, and dark, and really explore the line between good and evil, hero and villain.

Outliers and Blink by Malcolm Gladwell

Fascinating research on becoming an expert, making snap decisions, and what makes successful people stand out from the crowd. It gives you insight and perspective, like turning the Rubik’s cube of life around in your hands to examine from all angles.

Death Masks by Jim Butcher

I realize this is a single book partway through a series, but I don’t care, it was still one of my favorites from the last year, so it’s on the list. Dresden is forced to confront the consequences of some of his mistakes, part of his past he tried to forget, and finds himself tempted to do the wrong thing. Lots of moral and emotional dilemmas combined with sarcastic humor, badass fighting, and magic and myth.

The Artist in the Office by Summer Pierre

Quite possibly the most inspiring book I read all year. A fantastic self help book for artistic personalities who work in non-artistic professions. It helps you to incorporate art into your daily lifestyle at work and at home, and to recognize how you can live your ideal artistic life, or something close to it, while working a day job. It has really energized me, and reminded me about the good things in life.

The Third Act: Writing a Great Ending to your Screenplay by Drew Yanno

It’s short, and pretty to the point. And it helped my fix the ending to my first completed novel. Effective!

Gone Girl By Gillian Flynn

A dark, surprising murder mystery full of twists. This story kept me entertained despite the lack of magic OR spaceships! But dark, Dark, DARK. Be prepared for some messed up relationships. Nick Dunne’s wife disappears, and when the clues begin to point back toward Nick himself, he realizes that the most likely explanation sounds completely insane. The movie was a faithful rendition, but the book is still totally worth it.

Saga vol. 4 and 5 by Brian K. Vaughn, illustrated by Fiona Staples.

I love this series so much, and it continues to hold my devotion. I love the characters, and I
love the art, and I love the world. Though I have to say, there a was a really harsh sucker punch at the end of Vol. 5.

I don’t normally write this kind of blog, but I was thinking about it anyway as Thanksgiving approaches, and then I read this article. I hope it’s not as dark as all that, but if wishes were fishes, I’d be a mermaid. Or something like that. So here goes.

WARNING: politics. If you just want a recipe, scroll down to the bold text about broccoli.

I am thankful to live in a nation where the law is on the side of free speech, and freedom of religion. I am thankful and awed that gay marriage was legalized over a year ago. I am thankful that there is a second wave of civil rights for women, gays, people of color, and gender identity. I’m thankful to live in a democratic nation that believes I have the right to vote. I’m thankful for my education, and all the things that it helps me understand about the world. I am thankful none of my family are in the hospital this Thanksgiving. And I am thankful for my uninhibited access to the internet, net neutrality, and the ability to blog about these things right now.

Things I believe:

More knowledge is always better than less. Always.

God is everywhere, in everything, not in just one building, one church, or one man.

All human beings deserve equal civil rights. You should be able to worship, love, and live as you wish as long as no one is getting hurt.

Hell, animals deserve civil rights.

You cannot claim to be pro-life while eating meat, supporting the death penalty, or voting against social services for impoverished mothers and children. Life is not exclusive to human beings, nor does it end at birth.

Your life matters. YOU matter. And so do I.

Look guys, as a writer, I try to make friends with all kinds of people and learn how they work. I might be cranky and kinda asocial at times, but ultimately, I’m forgiving of a lot of human failings and I have hope. I want to believe. But in electing You-Know-Who, I feel like America is not the place I thought it was. He was the worst option, and now I can’t help but wonder if we’re just getting what we deserve. Except, no one deserves to lose their civil rights just because they exist. If you’re scared right now, me too. And I’m not going to just stand there and watch when I see something bad happen to someone else, I’m going to Do Something. I hope you’ll do Something too.

I’m actually afraid to post this blog. And I’m sad there are things I don’t even know how to talk about here. I’m at a loss.

So here’s a recipe for the broccoli at Old Spaghetti Factory.

Broccoli with Browned Butter and Cheese

Ingredients:

broccoli florets(how much? I dunno, how many people you trying to feed? I usually get a couple pounds)

3-6 Tablespoons of real butter

Mizithra cheese(I found some at Sprouts!)

Steam the broccoli and put it on a pretty plate. Then put the butter in a pan and heat on medium while stirring constantly. You’ll smell it as it starts to brown. It smells great. Keep stirring for maybe 30 more seconds after you start to smell the butter browning, but careful not to burn it. Turn off the heat and drizzle the butter over the broccoli. Grate the cheese and sprinkle generously over the broccoli. It’s beautiful. Don’t eat it all in one sitting.

]]>https://vegetarianninjalibrarian.wordpress.com/2016/11/24/being-grateful-as-2017-approaches/feed/2vegetarianninjalibrarianIt’s Banned Books Week!https://vegetarianninjalibrarian.wordpress.com/2016/09/29/its-banned-books-week/
https://vegetarianninjalibrarian.wordpress.com/2016/09/29/its-banned-books-week/#respondThu, 29 Sep 2016 06:41:14 +0000http://vegetarianninjalibrarian.wordpress.com/?p=855]]>It’s Banned Books Week! I haven’t read any banned books yet this week, but I love celebrating my right to learn whatever the hell I want. This feels especially important to me as a writer as well as a librarian. As a librarian, I do research professionally. As a librarian, people have asked me to remove gay magazines, and picture books from the shelves(yes, this has actually happened, and more than once). And as a writer, I look up a bunch of really weird, questionable stuff. So hooray for the first amendment and freedom of information! This might not seem like such a big deal, but when you consider that in North Korea they only have access to 28 websites, it puts things in perspective.

At the top of the list for most challenged books of 2015 is Looking for Alaska, by John Green, which is a great book. Just behind it is Fifty Shades of Grey, which while I don’t feel like I can say it’s a great book, I don’t support removing it from shelves either. This year the ALA is focusing on promoting diversity, particularly since books that take a hard look at the issues faced by different cultures and people are often the ones that get challenged.

That’s about all I’ve got for now. I haven’t been cooking as much, but I’ve been reading and writing plenty. The Rainbow Comes and Goes by Anderson Cooper and Gloria Vanderbilt was a pretty interesting read, and I’m digging into Stephen King’s Dark Tower series(shit is DARK). Happy reading everyone.

]]>https://vegetarianninjalibrarian.wordpress.com/2016/09/29/its-banned-books-week/feed/0vegetarianninjalibrarianThe Accidental Cathttps://vegetarianninjalibrarian.wordpress.com/2016/07/31/the-accidental-cat/
https://vegetarianninjalibrarian.wordpress.com/2016/07/31/the-accidental-cat/#respondSun, 31 Jul 2016 05:24:37 +0000http://vegetarianninjalibrarian.wordpress.com/?p=703]]>I haven’t blogged in a while because of how hard I’ve been working on other projects. I have an art show opening in a couple days, I went to two comic conventions, I’ve finally got a draft of my novel that I kinda like, and I’ve been working odd hours due to short staffing and summer reading program. Usually I post about books or food, but I haven’t had a lot of time to cook or write book reviews lately. I have nearly completed my favorite book list of 2015, but it’s a long list, so it’s taking a while. I thought I’d step outside my regular pattern to tell a personal story. If you don’t like cats, feel free to stop reading now and come back for the favorites of 2015 post.

Three years ago in July I came home and nearly ran over a tiny kitten. It was about 11pm, and there was a group of feral cats hanging out in my apartment parking lot. When my headlights hit them, they scattered. All but one kitten. It sat there staring at my headlights until the last possible second before it bolted. After I parked, I went looking for the kitten and found it hiding under another car. I coaxed it forward just a little, but then it sniffed the air and ran off. The kitten and I did this for about a week. I would come home, nearly run it over, then try to catch it. I didn’t really have a plan, I just didn’t want to run over a tiny kitten.

After that week, I started to worry that someone else might run it over. After all, lots of people speed through the parking lot, and this kitten clearly had a poor grasp of self preservation. So I asked to borrow a humane trap from a neighbor. She brought it over while I was having a girls night party, and I recruited the girls to come with me while I set the trap. We only had to wait about 15 minutes.

The kitten sprung the trap and began fighting like a Tazmanian devil to get out. It was hard to carry the trap it was fighting so hard. Eventually the kitten calmed down or wore itself out and curled up in the back of the trap. I slid a tiny litter box into the trap, took some pictures of the kitten, and posted it on Facebook to see if anyone would like an emaciated tabby kitten. I’m allergic to cats and had no intention of keeping this feral kitten. The next day, I had no takers, but the kitten seemed calmer, so I tried to pet it through the trap. It let me. So I opened the trap and tried reaching inside to pet it. It let me. It was so thin I could grab it with one hand and pull it out of the trap into my lap. It snuggled and purred, which stunned me. It wasn’t so feral after all, but it was too thin to belong to anyone.

I kept posting pictures to Facebook, showing videos of the kitten to co-workers, and even asked my apartment manager if anyone was missing a kitten. During this time, I was keeping the kitten in the bathroom, but one day it got out and hid under the couch before I had to go to work. When I came home, the kitten had used the litterbox, made no messes, and destroyed nothing. This was encouraging. So I sat down on the couch with the kitten to watch Youtube videos of well behaved cats getting baths and explained that this was necessary because of my allergy. Then I gave it a bath. It wasn’t as well behaved as the cats in the video, but it didn’t try to bite or claw. I thought, if I can bathe this cat, I might be able to live with it. Famous last words.

After a month, the kitten was crying at the door for me every time I came home. It watched TV with me and sat in my lap purring. I gave up trying to give it away and made a vet appointment. Then a friend called and asked if I was still giving away a kitten. I realized that no, I wasn’t. This was my cat. At the vet appointment, I learned that my kitten was about three months old, and a she. A she who had nearly been run over multiple times, and so either had no understanding of the danger, or was flirting with suicide. So at the suggestion of a friend, I named her Ophelia.

I never meant to get a cat. I’ve never had one before, and I’m allergic. But here we are three years later, and Ophelia has been the happiest of accidents.

]]>https://vegetarianninjalibrarian.wordpress.com/2016/07/31/the-accidental-cat/feed/0vegetarianninjalibrariancagekittenkitten2kittenartkitten20150712_230611CAM01043Found Objectshttps://vegetarianninjalibrarian.wordpress.com/2016/04/13/found-objects/
https://vegetarianninjalibrarian.wordpress.com/2016/04/13/found-objects/#commentsWed, 13 Apr 2016 06:10:13 +0000http://vegetarianninjalibrarian.wordpress.com/?p=559]]>Working in a library is not the boring experience that the media makes you think it is. I only hush people when they’re being really obnoxious, like talking loud enough on their phone that I know all about their colon problems. I do just as much computer help as I do book help; I get to have conversations with hilarious 4-year-olds; I’ve had to explain that stringing a tight-rope between library building supports is not allowed; I’ve had to say the words “so, I understand you were watching videos of the female genitalia in the presence of minors;” and I’ve been threatened with bodily harm by large, angry motorcyclists. My stories aren’t even the crazy ones. A lot of my librarian friends have crazier ones. Not that every single day is exciting, but it’s way more interesting than most people realize, which is one of the reasons I enjoy my job. I hate being bored.

However, when something crazy is going down, I don’t usually get pictures. I DO take pictures when books are returned with unusual bookmarks. Plane tickets, receipts, toilet paper, birthday cards, and personal photographs are not that uncommon. I’ve seen actual food more than once(which seriously damages the book, btw, don’t do it). I found 10 Euros once, and another time had to call someone because their child support check was left in a book. But again, I don’t have pictures of those. Here are the pictures I do have: A rubber witch finger in a children’s non-fiction book about zombies, and a hair pick, for some reason.

This one here is the absolute winner though. It’s a huge coffee table book about World War 2. The bookmark is an expired lunch coupon for a local strip club with a sticky note that has a girl’s name, phone number, and “home goodz” scrawled on it. You’re welcome?